Debut author in YA books:

C’mon Graceling…

Finalists

A Curse Dark as Gold by Bunce
Graceling by Cashore
Absolute Brightness by Lesceane
Madapple by Meldrum
Me the Missing and the Dead by Valentine

Winner

Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce (my 2nd pick!)

80 years after House at Pooh Corner, an authorized sequel is being published.  Author David Benedictus will create an older Christopher Robin, which is about the only detail being released at this point.

One wonders if it will be a hit or miss.  Milne’s signature style would be hard to perfect and without it the book won’t feel like a sequel. 

I admit my stomach did a sour twist at the thought of a sequel, but I’m trying to be open minded.  After all, I freely ignore the Disney-fied versions of Pooh already.

I would also like to thank the amazing publishers, large and small, who send me books to review.  At one point a few years ago, I had a single shelf of books I got from publishers each year, books that I was honored to receive and happy to review.  Now, my single shelf has multiplied into a room in the basement where I stack the ARCs and books I receive.  They patiently wait to see if they will catch my eye.  There are simply too many for me to read each and every one.  But I am always thrilled and honored to received each and every one.

After each title I finish reading, I head down to select another book.  I have a priority shelf of books that I simply must read, but often others come in and take their places.  It is good that books are quiet and not demanding.  Picture books are actually kept next to my bed in case one of my sons wants some snuggly reading time.  It lets me get through them faster, though I still have a pile I have to work on that is close to toppling.

Through the generosity of publishers, I was able to donate over 700 books to libraries in my area this year.  These were full copies of books, not galleys.  They are so appreciated by the libraries that receive them.   I consider myself a conduit not only of reviews but of books.  It is an honor to be able to do this for libraries.

I do apologize if I have not reviewed a book you sent me.  I try my best, and yes, I am one of those annoying bloggers who just will not publish a negative review.  I don’t have the time or inclination to finish books that I don’t like, and I also feel there are plenty of places to find reviews that are negative.  I’d rather be a place where the books I love spending time with are given the limelight.

I must also apologize for being really bad at keeping email communication with publishers.  I know I should be sending you emails when I review your titles.  I do alright for awhile and then fall so far behind it is exhausting to even think of doing the ones I’ve missed.  I promise to try to be better at this.

So thank you everyone, for reading, for publishing, for writing.  Here’s to a new year filled with great books!

The finalists for the 2008 Cybils Awards have been announced!  I’m organizer for the Fantasy and Science Fiction category, so I am probably biased, but there are some stand out titles there to check out! 

A huge thank you to my dedicated nomination panel and on to the judging phase.  I’m also a judge for SF/F, and happily I have read all but two of the nominated titles! 

So what do you think of the nominees in any of the categories?

Continuing my retrospective of the year, these are my top picks each month for children’s chapter books and easy readers.  The links are to my previous reviews of each title.

January

Miss Spitfire by Sarah Miller

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis

February

Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt

Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor

March

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd

April

Forever Rose by Hilary McKay

Clementine’s Letter by Sara Pennypacker

The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry

May

Smiles to Go by Jerry Spinelli

Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall

June

Savvy by Ingrid Law

The Underneath by Kathi Appelt

July

Zen and the Art of Faking It by Jordan Sonnenblick

August

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Writing Thank-You Notes by Peggy Gifford

Guardian by Julius Lester

Cicada Summer by Andrea Beaty

September

Knucklehead by Jon Scieszka

What the World Eats by Faith D’Aluisio

Brooklyn Bridge by Karen Hesse

October

The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman

November – interestingly didn’t review any books from this age group!

December

Where the Steps Were by Andrea Chang

Keeping the Night Watch by Hope Anita Smith

The Savage by David Almond

 

So once again, please let me know what I missed!

I’m taking the next week or so off to be with my family.  If I finish a great book, I may pop in and review it, but I am not planning to update regularly.

I’ll leave you with a super link WPClipart that has 24,000 clip art and public domain images!  But wait, head to browse the collection and then click on the fictional characters section.  Yes, over 250 images of fictional characters!  Yippee!  Lovely vintage images (like the one above) many that you will recognize and probably more that you will happily use online and on flyers and such.  Enjoy!

 

The Washington Post has an article about how the Newbery Award could even discourage children from reading!  Now, yes, I am a critic of recent choices by the Newbery committee.  I feel that in recent years we could have seen some of the fabulous AND kid-friendly titles win the big prize.  It seems that instead they are relegated to the Honor row. 

But the Newbery dampening reading?  I don’t know about that.  Yes, if teachers use the Newbery prize list as a unit the recent winners would probably sit lonely on the shelves passed over for older winners with more kid appeal.  But most kids do not spontaneously head out to the library looking for books with that large gold seal on the front.  So I can’t see it dampening reading much at all.

Could the Newbery start to stand for both quality and a book that children will want to read perhaps even talk about with friends and promote themselves because it is sooo good?  Yes.  But I have to believe that the relationship between children and books is healthy, resilient and constantly questing for the next great read.  To do any less would be to despair over children and reading.  And that ain’t happening!

Keeping the Night Watch by Hope Anita Smith, illustrated by E. B. Lewis.

At 13, CJ has gotten used to shouldering a lot of responsibility for his mother and little sister.  Now his father has returned and CJ is just plain angry.  How can his father returning feel even worse than when he was gone?  CJ has to work through his complex emotions before he is willing to give his father another chance to be part of the family.  Told through poems, this book reveals (as only poetry can) one boy’s inner emotional landscape amid those of others in his family.  Through her poetry, Smith has created a book that will speak to teens going through similar situations and also any teen who has had to deal with difficult family situations.

There is tension, sorrow, joy, pain and jealousy here that is revealed without flinching.  This book rings with truth.  The illustrations add to the feeling of reality as Lewis’ paintings feature portraits of this family on a stark white background, illuminating the inner feelings again. 

Here is one of my favorite passages from the end of the very first poem in the book:

After dinner, I wash dishes.

When Grandmomma comes in

to make a cup of tea, I say,

"This is a mess."

Grandmomma knows right away

I’m not talking about the dishes.

She hugs me and says.

"No, this is a family."

That passage sums up this book beautifully as people struggle to figure out what a family is.  This brief book should be placed in the hands of reluctant readers who will find themselves here.  Highly recommended for ages 11-15.

Shirley Dent has an article in The Guardian that talks about why "girl" books focus on home.  While I read the article, I was nodding in agreement.  Yes, the appeal of Little Women is in the home, that Christmas, the family, the warmth, especially in contrast to the War.  Yes, that focus is also true of the Little House on the Prairie series and most of Frances Hodges Burnett’s books like Secret Garden and A Little Princess.  So yes, many of them are focused on the feeling of home.

BUT

Then I started thinking (dangerous, I know) about all of the books that I would not label as "girl" books.  And yes, I hate that term and it gives me pangs to use it.  Farmer Boy by Wilder appeals to both genders and that home is one of the most warm and well-fed in literature.  Harry Potter is entirely about family and home and how to find it without it being right there for you. 

I started making a serious list, but found that almost every book I thought of has a sense of home in it as a central theme.  I believe it goes hand-in-hand with the natural theme of belonging and individuality that do their dance in almost every book for children and teens out there. 

So yes, "girl" books focus on home.  But so do a majority of books that all children and teens will enjoy.  Sad really that such a sexist theme had to be given to the article.  I believe the power of the piece would have been even more with the realization that this is a theme in all of children’s lit.  Peter Pan, anyone?